Political Quotes

Walter Bagehot: “Only a few nations, and those of European origin, advance; and yet these think--seem irresistibly compelled to…”

On the record
Only a few nations, and those of European origin, advance; and yet these think--seem irresistibly compelled to think--such advance to be inevitable, natural, and eternal.
Said by
Walter Bagehot

Editor's note · Context

Bagehot points out that only a select few nations, particularly of European descent, perceive their advancement as a natural and inevitable process.

Share

More from Walter Bagehot

I cannot, therefore, join in the full cry against anomalies; in my judgment it may quickly overrun the scent, and so miss what we should be glad to find.

gutenberg.org

The lessons are good where its primitive assumptions hold, but may be false where those assumptions fail.

gutenberg.org

I own that I do not entirely sympathise with the horror of these anomalies which haunts some of our best critics.

gutenberg.org

It is natural that those who by special and admirable culture have come to look at all things upon the artistic side, should start back from these queer peculiarities.

gutenberg.org

Other voices in this conversation